Tough Future

It just gets worse...

http://www.coinweek.com/ancient-coi...eads-to-arrests-of-coin-collectors-in-munich/

I'd say more, but I'll leave that to you guys.

 

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Depressing...I couldn't even finish reading it.

 

It is depressing in that the collectors and dealers are being completely ignored and that a government like that has the power to pass acts (very quickly) that couldn't be reviewed and discussed properly!

 

Wow. That just sucks. Big time. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

 

Oh no... how sad. I hope there is much more to the story than meets the eye but fear there may not be.

 

Cripes...

 

It was 100 times worse in my former insect collecting hobby. So, today the best bug collections are in Japan/ reasons no enforcement of all these stupids laws/ so the Japanese are able to import anything and everything. The USFW almost killed the hobby in the US. We are still quite fortunate with coins and such. Being German, it makes me shudder that they did such a thing in Munchen. Things like this cause governments to get voted out of office.

 

Measures taken must be proportional to the chosen level of protection. Thiswey legislation has the EU written all over it, a classic case of using a Sledgehammer to crack a nut...
Veeera sad.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_breaks_a_butterfly_upon_a_wheel?

 

Pretty typical of an overreaching government. Just pass a bill to make everybody feel good without taking all the consequences into consideration. Of course the "academics" know everything.

 

I'm sorry Germany, we never meant for it to go this far (post 1945)

 

It is commonly thought that academic classical archaeologists have lead the charge against collecting. A cursory inspection of the history of archaeology shows collectors began the field. All the early excavations were conducted by collectors. Later, the institutions involved expected to collect a fraction of the excavated material. Often excavations were funded by wealthy collectors.

How has the model changed? Without collectors, who will fund it? Governments? Is there a classical archaeologist in the US who really thinks the feds or states will increase, or even maintain, grants for digging in other countries?

I think classical archaeologists are well-intentioned, but wrong about how cultural property should be handled. The way things are going I can't see that rich collectors will be more inclined to fund digs and I don't see the US government wanting to fund more cultural activities of any sort. So, I expect their funding (without which archaeology cannot happen) will gradually dry up. Then they will rue alienating collectors. I believe the profession of archaeology will have to pay a price for its mistakes in promoting "cultural heritage." I am sorry that collectors will have to pay too.

 

The problem I have with all of this is the labeling of coins as "cultural heritage".

 

Curious if those classical archaeologists have a few (or more) of some finds from their excavations at THEIR homes, or in THEIR personal collections...

 

Yet another way for Germany to ignore the elephant in the room, (also known as rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic).

 

Frustrating and depressing. I could not finish the article for fear of ruining my evening further.

 

I read about your adventures in trading gold for bugs and I think of Ayn Rand who would approved deeply of your pursuits and why you have a right to do so:

"A trader is a man who earns what he gets and does not give or take the undeserved. He does not treat men as masters or slaves, but as independent equals. He deals with men by means of a free, voluntary, unforced, uncoerced exchange—an exchange which benefits both parties by their own independent judgment. A trader does not expect to be paid for his defaults, only for his achievements. He does not switch to others the burden of his failures, and he does not mortgage his life into bondage to the failures of others."

Bugs for gold. Who would have thought a value relationship existed. Apparently two free men do, which is awesome IMHO!

Coin!

 

Well stated! Coin: is it one I saw at Expo?

 

Yep! Ex a CoinTalker who must not be named (Voldermort?)

 

Sad article, but thanks for posting. Very informative.
Here is the website for the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild:
I just donated and am happy I did.
http://www.accg.us/home.aspx